Re-Creating History

Assembling The Past

In an effort to keep track of the history of this endeavor, I’ve been making an effort to locate and assemble a resource where I can better track down the work I’ve done over the years. I’ve been creating media for over 20 years, and it wasn’t until I put that number in a sentence I actually used in public that it occurred to me that there is little-to-no record of some things I spent the largest amount of time working on.

To that end, I have put together this Resume that documents my output since the first ‘zine was assembled in 1993. Imagine this post coming with a late-’90’s Under Construction .gif, but the ultimate goal is to account for every ‘zine, broadcast, video, performance, and related detritus that have been put together in that time. A good portion of these are available in some form or another, and at the very least, documented. Broadcasts are available as .mp3s, while publications can be read as .pdfs. Both formats are available for download or through your browser for free.

Inevitably, there are holes in the timeline. Not only do we have to contend with the failings of technology, memory, and capturing devices, anyone who has attempted to archive anything laments the incomplete information we have of the early years, or some legendary jam session where no one pushed record. Still, this is more complete than I ever imagined it could be a month or so ago, and I am comfortable with the losses for the sheer abundance of things that still persist into the present day.

Ironically, this entire project has led to the slow-down of nearly every creative outlet that I usually participate in. As usual, there are always trade offs. This seems to be a pattern for me, and when I run out of juice, I just stop cold. As I spend some time doing some serious soul searching and documentation, this is not only rejuvenating my desire to develop something new, but is recharging the ideas that I never managed to pursue before. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes, and when there are fruits of the labor are worth admiring, you can be sure I’ll make mention of it.

The current project is to document I’d Buy That For A Dollar!, a ‘zine I produced from 1996 – 2005. Up until this project, I had given up on finding any kind of evidence of their creation, and had assumed they were just lost forever. However, I found a box had been in storage for years, and it contained some back-issues. To that end I began the project of digging around in all the old files I used to make these publications, and slowly I’ve been able to piece together most of them.

At the beginning of this year, I was having a hard time seeing the xeroxed forrest for the recycle bin. It’s funny how an old liquor box full of paper can help you re-think the last 20 years. I transformed from being a middle-aged detective trying to make sense of the clues in front of me, to a person with a past, one that was documented, where I was always working on a new case, always pushing forward.

You can watch my progress backward on this site as I put all of these together, and hopefully I can announce something new soon instead of digital relics then.